We made Weetabix Barfi for my son’s Diwali & Eid party at school. Making food should be fun, especially when doing it with children. I love recipes where my son can enjoy making it and at the same time he is learning all the time yet he thinks it is fun, because for a change I am letting him play with food We worked together as a team and he really enjoyed crushing the weetabix and biscuits, then mixing all the dry ingredients together. Learning about texture, size and how to measure ingredients together, are just a few of the things we talked about as we were making this easy sweet dish.

I have adopted this recipe to our taste from ‘The Ultimate Collection – A Vegetarian Cookbook’. The taste is a cross between a cereal bar and an Indian sweet.  I wanted to try this recipe as it seemed like an interesting mix of ingredients and felt kind of healthy because of the use of Weetabix, hence we made it as one of our Diwali sweets this year. In case you don’t know, Weetabix is a popular breakfast cereal – more info at Wikipedia here. It also goes by the name of Weet-bix.

Weetabix Barfi

I tweaked the recipe by reducing the amount of dessicated coconut and using chocolate flavoured Marie biscuits as opposed to the plain ones. When we made a second batch I also added some orange essence and dried orange zest, and it tasted good, so you can experiment with different flavours.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 30 to 40 mins      Setting time: overnight    Makes: 75 1” square pieces

220g Weetabix roughly crushed (this is 12 biscuits)

125g Marie biscuits roughly crushed

80g mixed nuts (I used almonds, pistachios & cashew) coarsely ground

50g dessicated coconut

2 tsp ground cinnamon powder

397g condensed milk (one can)

125g butter

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Method

1) Crush the Weetabix and Marie biscuits in a large bowl (we did it by hand). Grind the mixed nuts in a food processor and add to the bowl with the other two ingredients. To this add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well and keep aside.

2) Melt butter and ghee at low heat in a heavy bottom pan. Grease the thali or baking tray to be used and keep aside. Once the butter and ghee has melted add the condensed milk and mix switching off the heat. Once combined, pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

3) Spread and press the mixture into the greased tray. I used the back of a small flat bottomed bowl to do this after initially using my hand to spread it evenly in the tray. Leave overnight to set fully and cut into pieces, store in an air tight container in the fridge. It keeps well for about a month (if it lasts long enough and not eaten), enjoy

I came across this sweet dish about 4 to 5 years back. The name was very unusual for a sweet dish -  Kesar means saffron and Mani in Sanskrit means gem. The taste was a combination of a few traditional sweets, a crunchy yet melt in the mouth texture all at the same time. Ever since then I wanted to try and make it at home, but I had no-one to teach me or tell me all the specific ingredients.

As I have mentioned before, I recently got a couple of recipe books from Kenya, ‘ The Ultimate Collection – A Vegetarian Cookbook’ and ‘Exotic Flavours – Cuisine With Class’. I looked at the recipe given for Kesar Mani from each book and then decided to try it out. The ingredients from both books were similar, so I combined their ingredients and had a go. The first attempt needed a little extra sweetness and some more spice I felt. So I tweaked the recipes slightly and came up with the version below.

I had made this dish over the summer for one of my husband’s friends for his wedding, but I thought it would be good to post it on Radiance Recipes now when people would make or like to try out new sweets for Diwali. This is a good sweet to indulge in for those special occasions.

Kesar Mani

The key to the success of this recipe is preparation. Make sure that you have all the ingredients ready and measured before you start the recipe. One of the recipe books did not add the thin vermicelli, I guess if you don’t like it or do not have it then you can leave it out. You can use rose petals and crushed vermicelli for decoration as well as the flaked almonds and pistachios.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 45 mins    Cooking time (plus overnight setting time): 1 hr    Makes: 1 kg (40 pieces)

150 g gram flour (chickpea flour)

150 g milk powder

100 g thin vermicelli roasted

120 g fine dessicated coconut

200 g almonds coarsely ground

100 g each pistachios and cashew nuts coarsely ground

150 g gund (gum arabica ) crushed

400 g icing sugar

380 g ghee (clarified butter)

4 tsp taj (cinnamon) powder

2 tsp elaichi (cardamom) powder

1 g kesar (saffron) lightly crushed (keep some aside for decoration)

Flaked almonds & pistachios & saffron for decoration

Method

1) Measure all the ingredients and keep aside. Grind the nuts coarsely and keep aside. Dry roast the roughly broken vermicelli  to a golden colour, cool and keep aside. Grease the thalis or baking trays that you are going to use to set the kesar mani and keep aside.

2) In a large heavy bottom pan on a medium heat, place little more then half of the ghee. To this add the gram flour and roast until it becomes a light pink or golden brown, making sure to stir continuously. You can add a little more ghee if you feel it is to dry (too much will just make the flour bubble up rather then roasting properly). When the aroma from the flour is released add the gund a little at a time waiting for it to pop before you add more.

3) Switch off the heat and add the crushed nuts, milk powder, dessicated coconut, a large pinch of kesar, spices and remaining ghee, mix well until all the ingredients have blended. When a little more cooler add the icing sugar and roasted vermicelli combine all the ingredients until well blended. The texture will be a little like coarse wet sand and will hold its shape if made into a ball.

4) Split the mixture into the greased thalis or baking trays about an inch deep and press down with the back of a small bowl or your hands. Once the mixture is packed in and smooth sprinkle with the decoration and lightly press down again. Cover and leave to set over night in a cool dry place. The next morning cut into 1 inch squares. You will have to gently wiggle the pieces before lifting them clear of the thali. Store in air tight containers in the fridge. It will keep for a few weeks, if they’re not eaten by then

In recent years there are a few buzz words associated with all the lovely fruits & vegetables available, that are used to tell us why we should eat them. The key phrases are super food, rich in antioxidants, & packed full of vitamins and so on. I feel that all food is good for us, consumed in the correct quantities and eaten on a regular basis. There has been much research that has been conducted on strawberries and the results suggest that it is rich in vitamin C, is filled with antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease, rich in folic acid and are also good at helping reduce tartar as well as maintaining healthy skin. With or without the title of super food, strawberries are a great tasting food which gives us an uplifting effect and can satisfy any sweet tooth.

This recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes was requested from my dear son for some months now. He asked my younger sister to make a strawberry chocolate cake, so she attempted it earlier this year. She adapted her normal recipe for eggless chocolate cake and added strawberry jam and syrup. This experiment did not quite work as the cake sank! I then had a go with the yoghurt cake recipe and added strawberry syrup and cocoa. It smelt great but the taste was not there. Then at a recent food festival, I had tried some strawberry cake/bread which was vegan. They had used a lot of chopped fresh fruit to get taste and texture. Then I also saw a few recipes which inspired me, there was this Blueberry coffee cake & Eggless Vanilla Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins.

From all of that research and experimenting, I made the following recipe which was a good first attempt. The cup cakes were moist and had the correct balance of fruit and sugar. My husband said they were more like muffins than cupcakes, but all the same tasted great. I was glad that I took up the challenge and ventured into creating this recipe.

Strawberry Cupcakes

I guess this recipe can be used for any other fresh fruit cake you wish to make, like mango, blueberries etc. You can reduce the amount of sugar needed depending on how sweet the fruit is.

Ingredients

Preparation time : 45 mins        Cooking time: 15 to 20 mins          Makes: 12 big cupcakes or 24 small

2 cups self raising flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp each of baking powder & bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp of vanilla essence

2 tbsp of butter

3 tbsp natural yoghurt

1/4 cup of strawberry juice

1 cup of chopped strawberry

Method

1) Wash and chop the strawberries, keep aside. Pre- heat the oven to 180 ‘C and place the cases for the cupcakes in a tray.

2) Make the juice of the strawberries by whisking the chopped strawberries in to a pulpy juice to the quantity required. In a large bowl mix together the sugar & butter to create a breadcrumb like consistency. Now to this add the yoghurt, vanilla essence and strawberry juice.

3) To the wet mixture add all the dry ingredients, mix well and then fold in the chopped strawberries. If you are happy with the consistency (not too runny and not too thick) then fill the cases with the mixture coming up to about 3/4 full. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake until golden brown and when a tooth pick is inserted it comes out clean. You are ready to serve with some coffee or with fresh cream or even some ice cream.

]]> http://radiancerecipes.com/strawberry-cupcakes/feed/ 5 http://radiancerecipes.com/exotic-fruit-ice-lollies/ http://radiancerecipes.com/exotic-fruit-ice-lollies/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:26:26 +0000 Kiran http://radiancerecipes.com/?p=1005

Each year as the mango season is upon us we enjoy eating it just as it is meant to be – plain and simple. The other favourite is to have mango pulp (ras) with our meal (it is great served with puri and any curry). Just so as we can prolong the taste and enjoy them well after the season has ended, it is always a good idea to freeze the pulp.

In the Indian culture mangoes are considered to be the king of all fruits, a place which is rightly deserved as the taste, aroma and juice of the fruit are all beyond comparison. In recent times it has become quite the trend to label the food that we eat as super foods or foods that are good for us. In my opinion all food if eaten in the correct quantity is a super food as it is all good for us, some may have qualities that other fruits don’t but that does not mean we eat any less of it. Having said that mangoes are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and dietary minerals &  fibre, hence qualifying as a ideal superfruit.

When I made these ice lollies last year, with my son, they were with just plain mango. So this year I thought I will do two batches, one with just mango and the other with some other fruit mixed in. So I thought of the 5 a day campaign and tried to incorporate as many fruits as I had at the time. Four out of five is not bad and considering they are all rich in vitamin C, A & E and in potassium, phytochemicals, and nutrients. This is one of the main reasons why I like to make these kind of foods at home as I know that it is 100% fruit, not from concentrate and not ladled with sugar and addatives. I know exactly what goes into the lollies and I control the content of fruit and sugar. This is exactly how  it was when we young, as there were no sell by dates on the food we ate nor did it give us any allergies or side effects. The fact that it is so quick and easy to make should be the other deciding factor in making these lollies.

Coincidently when we made the lollies, my son was learning about freezing water to make ice, so this was a perfect way of teaching him the process of creating something that he enjoys eating. He was very excited as a result to see the process, however was quite anxious as the waiting time was too long (freezing time).

Exotic Fruit Ice Lollies

As mentioned I used the fruit I had at home at the time, however you can choose what ever combination you like and perhaps you could even add some herbs. I did this when I made some at my parents place after we went strawberry picking and added some fresh mint to the purée mix, it just adds an extra zing to the lollies. Another thing you can do with this lolly mixture is what I have done, place them in some ice cube trays and use as ice cubes for cocktails and punches.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 mins        Serves: 8 to 10

1 mango chopped

1/2 pineapple chopped

2 peaches chopped

2 kiwi fruits chopped into cubes

sugar to taste

Method

1) Purée all the fruit apart from the kiwi fruit in a hand blender, adding sugar to taste.

2) Once you have the correct taste then check to make sure the mixture is not too thick, you can add water at this point to make it a pouring consistency. Pour into the lolly moulds or ice cube trays and freeze for a few hours, enjoy on a lovely hot day.

It has become a kind of tradition for our family for the past few years to go strawberry picking during the season.  Especially since my son and nieces have arrived, it is so much fun watching them enjoy themselves, picking and eating the strawberries. When my son was one and a half years old, he went for the first time, he had such a good time, eating the juicy red sweet strawberries, his face was covered and he smelled sweet for the rest of the day. This year we made a family day out as both my brother in-law and husband joined us, as a result we picked so many strawberries and decided to make a few things with them. So the first thing was to make ice cream with the children, combining their love of the fruit and everyone’s favourite – ice cream. All three children had their share of  helping prepare the ingredients and then mixing them in the machine and felt important that they had a part in making it. Doing such an activity is a great way to teach them how things grow and how they are made into the end product which they enjoy so much.

Strawberry ice cream

We have a ice cream maker which we used, however if you do not have one then you can mix the mixture in a blender and then freeze it.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 30 mins plus making and freezing time     Serves: 8 to 10

568 g double cream

4 cups chopped strawberry

1/4 cup sugar

Method

1) Wash and chop the strawberries to small cubes, add the sugar, this will depend on the sweetness of the strawberries and you can adjust your quantity of sugar.

2) Whip the cream with half of the chopped strawberries until it thickens into a dropping consistency.

3) Place the mixture into the ice cream machine and mix at regular intervals or as per the instructions of the ice cream machine. If you do not have a machine then you can make the ice cream by placing the whipped mixture in a container and place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove and mix for 5 minutes and place in the freezer again for 10 minutes. Repeat the process a couple of times and you are ready to serve.

I have had this recipe since 2004 from one of my husband’s aunt. She makes an eggless cake using yoghurt and it has a lighter texture compare to the other cake recipe posted earlier. My mother-in-law really likes this cake and so I thought I would try it out finally this year for her birthday. I asked my husband to help me, but I was so busy with preparing the other meals that he actually ended up making the cake. So I said to him I will tell everyone that you made it. To this he said lets wait and see how it turns out, if it is good then you can tell everyone otherwise no. Well it was wonderful, however the only thing was that despite following the recipe we both felt you could smell and taste the bicarbonate of soda powder.

I made the cake again a few days later, this time with my son’s help, and reduced the bicarbonate of soda powder and it was perfect, so that is the recipe I am giving you. I find it so amazing when I hear of or see different recipes for eggless cakes, how inventive people can be, and it also shows you can make good cakes without using eggs.

Eggless Yoghurt Cake

Another option is that you can add dried fruit or chocolate to this basic recipe. As I have just tried the basic recipe I cannot say how they work out. I used home made natural yoghurt for the recipe, you can use shop bought but make sure its the live natural variety. The consistency should be about medium, not too thick, not too runny. If you feel the consistency is too thick then you can add a few table spoons of yoghurt or water to get the correct consistency.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 mins       Cooking time: 30 to 45 mins       Serves: 10

250g self raising flour

200g sugar

8 oz yoghurt

50 g butter

1/2 bicarbonate of soda powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

2to 3 tbsp dessicated coconut

Method

1) Pre heat the oven at 180′C, grease and line a 9 inch cake tin.

2) In a large bowl mix the butter and sugar, just enough to get a bread crumb consistency. Then add the yoghurt and vanilla essence and mix.

3) Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, once the consistency is correct pour into the cake tin a bake for 30 to 40 mins at 180′C, the top of the cake should be a golden brown colour. Cool slightly and cut into pieces ready to serve.